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Fiscal Conservatism

[California] State Controller John Chiang warned Tuesday that the first group to get hit in the wallet by California’s budget debacle is likely to include legislators – and it could happen as early as Feb. 1.

The bad news is that next in line to get IOUs instead of cash would be Californians awaiting state income tax refunds and companies that do business with the state.

In a letter to state agencies, Chiang said his office was projecting the state would run out of cash around the beginning of March.

Without a deficit-closing deal between legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chiang said, his office “has no choice but to pursue the deferral of potentially billions of dollars in payments and/or the issuance of individual registered warrants, commonly referred to as IOUs.”

Remember, Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor because his predecessor, Gray Davis, had almost the exact same budgetary problems as he’s having now (it’s funny how well-funded recall campaigns only seem to crop up when it’s a Democrat mismanaging the state, right?).

But hey, isn’t this how conservatism works? Get elected by attacking the incumbent for doing something bad, then do that same bad thing once you’rein office, mismanage your government, pointlessly insult your political opponents, and then declare that you’re the good guy and everyone else are the bad guys.

I won’t dispute the fact that California’s government is broken and has been for a very long time. But it doesn’t help when you elect (and re-elect) people to run the state who clearly have no idea what they’re doing. I support the idea that anyone should be able to get elected to public office, but it’s clear that Schwarzenegger isn’t a very good governor, and the fact that he’s serving his second term as the leader of America’s largest state and the world’s fifth-largest economy is a sad reflection on California politics.

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2 comments

I think this whole silly habit isn’t quaint or funny any longer. The fact remains that leftists, when they see anyone they want to demonize politically do what THEY themselves would do, it instantly becomes wrong, and some boffin pretends to be stunned! shocked! mortified! that they didn’t do THE OBVIOUS THING which always happens to be the precise opposite.

Actually keynsianism (Galbraith-ism, actually) means injecting funds into the economy that aren’t already there and must either be borrowed from the future/self, other treasuries, or as is the case with most leftist who have dealt with teh matter in teh past: just printing it.

“But it doesn’t help when you elect (and re-elect) people to run the state who clearly have no idea what they’re doing.”

You say that as though the overburden of debt carried and government of ludicrous scale over by the “wise” previous administrations is not involved in this, or that you wouldn’t stamp your feet on the ground a la Yosemite Sam if anyone tried to trim it.

Please – if you’re going to advance an idea or ideology, do so. If all you’re going to do is this kind of nutty ideological tinsil-hockey with yourself, you should probably stop wasting your time.

Democrashield
· December 31, 2008

You say that as though the overburden of debt carried and government of ludicrous scale over by the “wise” previous administrations is not involved in this

Well, first off, I never called anyone “wise;” I’m not sure how making up quotes proves your point.

And you seemed to have missed this sentence:

I won’t dispute the fact that California’s government is broken and has been for a very long time.

But hey, you were right when you said this:

Please – if you’re going to advance an idea or ideology, do so. If all you’re going to do is this kind of nutty ideological tinsil [sic]-hockey with yourself, you should probably stop wasting your time.

Listen to your own advice; you probably should stop wasting your time.